The DC210 challenges the norm as far as colour tones go, and uses a sporty silver grey / dark grey / dark metallic blue. Based on Mini DVD media, the DC210 is sufficiently compact; it never feels large, no matter how small your hands. It's built very well, similar to its elder sib¬ling, the DC230. Design-wise, the power button and the 5-way joystick are well laid out-right under your thumb, making one¬handed operation a snap. Similarly, the Record and Photo but¬tons are conveniently located, and have a nice positive feel. any long-distance shooting with this. We were unable to focus on an object 14 inches away at a zoom of approximately 6x-not something Once again the lithium-ion battery is accessi¬ble when the LCD viewfinder is opened-unlike the DC51, there's no one-touch PictBridge sup¬port, and no USB port. Canon's provided the same detailed menu as we've seen on their other cam¬corders; it's excellent, but the number of options will be appreciated by all, and the simplicity of those options will make even newbies feel at ease.





Although the zoom is slow and progressive (a good thing), the DC210 does have a slight issue at the long-end of its zoom-it simply takes too long to focus if the subject happens to be a bit closer. In fact, all the other camcorders-including its Canon siblings-were faster, making us wonder what exact¬ly was causing the problem. While zooming on a subject 10 feet away, the DC210 actually took six to seven seconds to focus properly (this usually takes around four seconds).

The real issue with the DC210 is shooting indoors, that is, in less-than-ideallighting, where graininess, noise, and colour casts become apparent.
At Rs 18,995, the DC210 is very affordable as far as a cam¬corder goes. The issue we see is the value/performance trade¬off (an ever-present evil). Recommended if you cannot spend any more (it's a great buy for the price}-but it does lose out to the Sony DCR-DVD608E, albeit by a small margin.



specifications:
1/ 6-inch CCD sensor (0.8 Megapixel);
2.7-inch LCD viewfinder (123,000 pixels);
Digital (Electronic) Image Stabilisation;
weight: 400 gm.